Shane Green on one of his 18 carries for 145 yards. © Havenfootball.net, Inc.
By Matthew DeGeorge
That didn’t mean it wouldn’t be compelling.
Despite Springfield pitching a second-half shutout, and with the Cougars having a chance to win the game with 19 seconds left, Sean Williams’ 40-yard field goal fell attempt fell short in what was left to be a 14-12 Strath Haven win.
The second-seeded Panthers (12-1) advance to next week’s District 1 championship game against the winner of Saturday’s semifinal against top-seeded Chester and No. 5 West Chester Rustin.
Springfield scored the only touchdown of the second half, a 34-yard Mike Turner run with 2:16 left. But a missed extra point in the first quarter meant the Cougars had to go for two, and Vince Hales and James Fisher strung out Turner’s run attempt.
Springfield would force Haven to punt again, the fourth of the night and third of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Ryan Whitaker got them to the 23 with 19 seconds left, including a 33-yard hookup with Chris Dolan. But two incompletions and a spike led to Williams attempting a field goal that fell well short.
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Marco Kaufman for 6 points in Haven’s semi-final win last night. © Havenfootball.net, Inc.
By Matt Smith
When the game ended, Strath Haven’s Marco Kaufman and Shane Green stood side by side, a living portrait of two exhausted players who had just endured 48 minutes of physical agony.
And they couldn’t have felt any better.
“Every play I feel I am getting a new bruise,” Kaufman said. “My back, front, sideways. I’m getting hit everywhere. But it’s the type of game I love.”
That is one way to explain what happened in Friday’s District 1 Class 5A semifinal at George L. King Field. The meeting of Central League behemoths No. 2 Strath Haven and No. 3 Springfield was a showcase of two of Delaware County’s toughest, meanest football teams. And the highly anticipated rematch of co-Central League champions exceeded the hype.
When Sean Williams’ 40-yard field goal attempt in the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter landed a few yards short of the crossbar, the Panthers’ offense casually trotted back on the field and lined up in victory formation.
For the third time in 12 months, the Panthers had outdueled the Cougars. With its 14-12 win Friday, Strath Haven advances to its second district final in three years. The Panthers will play the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 1 Chester and fifth-seeded West Chester Rustin next weekend at a site to be determined.
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AJ Glavicic making one of his two interceptions last night in defeating Springfield in the District 1 semi-final game. © Havenfootball.net, Inc. 2023
By Jack McCaffery
There would be hospital visits and follow-ups, x-rays and more x-rays, hope, recommendations and warnings. All AJ Glavicic knew was that at some point, there would be only one way to know if he still had a high school football career.
He would listen to his heart.
Glavicic is a Strath Haven defensive back, and while he wasn’t the only reason the Panthers were able to outlast visiting Springfield, 14-12, in the District 1 Class 5A semifinals Friday, his two interceptions rammed him into the top three. That wasn’t the way he envisioned contributing, though, when the Panthers played Springfield the first time, back on Labor Day weekend. A high-level 400-meter runner with track interest from, among others, Penn State, Army and Villanova, the 6-1, 165-pound senior was also listed as a wide receiver.
Then?
“It was actually called a ‘hitch,’” Glavicic was saying of what could have been a career-changing play. “Then we checked it for a ‘go’ route, and I caught it for like a 40-yard bomb. Then I hit the floor.”
He knew at that point his season was about to change, for as he landed, half of his right collarbone would go one way, the other half in the opposite direction. The next day, as he recalls, he was off to the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, where doctors were necessarily frank. Basically, they told him to wait for track season.
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